Takakai [鷹 甘; also written as 鷹 飼] means falconry, and is a term recorded in Nihon Shoki [the Chronicles of Japan]. The takakai-be, a professional group responsible for the breeding, training, and management of raptors, was formed during the reign of Emperor Nintoku.
Although previous research suggests that falconry was introduced in to Japan from abroad, very few studies have focused on this question from the perspective of cultural history. Existing studies have drawn on theories based on archaeological material, such as the characteristics of the haniwa ( clay figures found with the dead as funerary objects) of falconers: these are problematic owing to the approaches of prior researchers.
This paper approaches falconry from a cultural history perspective based on analyses of archeological materials including: (1) haniwa ofraptors; (2) haniwa of falconers; and (3) falconry figures from Koguryo mural tumuli, while focusing on the relationship between falconry in Japan and on the Korean peninsula.
The results of this study show that the actual arrangement of the falconer haniwa indicates that they were not representations of the entombed (ruler-level) figures. Rather, they represented falconers in full dress as professional artisans, on the same level as warriors and sumo wrestlers under the ruler's control. Further, the "mounted style" that united falconer and horse, was not present in Japan when cultural imports from abroad began.
Bells attached to the tail feathers of raptors in Japan are similar to those used in falconry on the Korean peninsula. This suggests that falconry, which flourished in Koguryo and Paekche on the Korean peninsula, became organized into the takakai-be in Japan, rapidly expanding and becoming more established in the sixth century.